Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Magic Knight Rayearth Fan Fiction ❯ Shadow of the Absent Moon ❯ Lantis' Suspicions ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Disclaimer: All characters, places and quotes of Magic Knight Rayearth are copyright CLAMP, Kodansha, Dentsu, YTV, TMS-K & Anime Works. All Sailor Moon references and characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi, TOEI, Kodansha & Pioneer.

Shadow of the Absent Moon
- Lantis' Suspicions -

"Mamo-chan!"

Lantis stepped out from behind the curtains of the alcove he'd used to ditch Primera. The cry came from the room he'd just left and it wasn't a voice that he recognized. It had to belong to the girl.

He listened for a couple more minutes, but could hear nothing when suddenly the doors opened and everyone but the Magic Knights and the girl filed out. Lantis slid back into the alcove.

"I wonder who she is?" Caldina commented slipping in step with Lafarga.

"She seemed..." began Ascot, but then he stopped.

The group found a new glare object in the young summoner.

"She what?" prompted Caldina.

"No, it's stupid. Forget I said anything."

"Please, tell us," said Ferio.

Ascot shook the hair out of his eyes. "She reminds me of the Magic Knights. Her clothes are even similar." Silence for a moment.

"That," began Lafarga, "is a very good point."

She couldn't be another Magic Knight, could she? Not even a new Pillar yet and already a new Magic Knight summoned? No, that wasn't possible.

Actually, it really wasn't possible for the Magic Knights to have been summoned back. Not without a Pillar. Maybe, the girl had come to Cephiro by accident.

Blah. If anyone would know, Lantis knew that nothing ever happened in Cephiro by accident. So, that brings him back to the question. What was the girl doing in Cephiro?

"Ferio?"

"Yes, Fuu?" Another spot of silence, then the rustle of clothing. Lantis stepped away from the crack in the curtains.

"Umm... We must go outside, the other Magic Knights and I."

"You can't. It's too dangerous."

"We must. The young lady Lantis brought inside told us she was with another. He is still out there. We can not leave him to the monsters."

Ferio was quiet for a second. "Very well, Fuu, but... Take this with you."

"The magic orb?"

"Hai."

"Ferio, thank you. I-"

"Magic Knight?" Clef's voice broke into the private moment.

"Clef-sama?"

"If you and the other Magic Knights are certain you must leave the castle, I must insist you take Mokona with you."

"We are very certain and we would be honored to have Mokona-san join us."

"Be careful. The monsters are much stronger than the last time you were in Cephiro."

"We will. I promise."

"I'll be waiting for your return, Fuu," Ferio cooed.

Lantis blocked out the rest of Fuu and Ferio's conversation. What was that girl playing at? If there were someone else with her when he'd found her, he would have felt the other life. There was no other life besides the girl's.

And now the strange girl was taking the Magic Knights out of the castle and into monster territory.

Defenseless. The whole bloody group was defenseless. Three girls and a ball of white fur with a stranger definitely make trap bait. What was she up to?

The group beyond the curtain retired to Clef's chambers, leaving the corridor to Lantis and his wandering mind.

Maybe the girl was from another world and she was the victim of bad timing. Or maybe she was from another country. If Autozam hadn't sent Eagle and the NSX to invade, Lantis wouldn't have put it past their government to send in a "friendly stranger" to take care of things in Cephiro Castle.

It wasn't Autozam, but Chizeta and Fahren were still on the list. The girl could be from anywhere.

Lantis snuck out of the castle just long enough after the girls that he wouldn't be noticed. He didn't follow them, though. He went straight to the spot he'd rescued her from the monster and waited.

It was simple reasoning. She shows up, she's a fraud. She could not find her way back to the kill site, unless she already knew where it was. If she didn't make it to the kill site or she gave up looking, she earns a couple of trust points, but by no means is she off the list.